BOYNTON MAYOR'S RACE NETS 3 HOPEFULS

After former Commissioner R.J. "Bobby" Walshak abruptly withdrew from the race, his friend and protege David Katz, who had filed to run for re-election in commission District 1, opted on Tuesday for a mayoral try.

He joins former Mayor Jim Warnke and Jerry Taylor, administrative assistant to County Commissioner Mary McCarty.

"I'm a candidate for mayor because I intend to lower taxes without affecting services by wasteful government spending," Katz said in a prepared statement. He would not say whether his entrance into the mayoral contest was linked to Walshak's withdrawal.

As a result of Katz's late switch, Sidney Rosen was elected unopposed on Tuesday as the District 1 commissioner.

Rosen, though thrilled by the easy victory, plans to stay on the campaign trail.

"I'll be meeting with all the groups just to have them know me better and to talk to me," he said. "I feel I owe it to them."

Shirley Jaskiewicz and Michael Lyons, both veterans of the city's Community Relations Board, will face off to replace Jose Aguila as the District 3 commissioner.

Walshak, a private investigator, said he dropped out of the mayor's race to spend more time on his business. The impact of his decision may be felt largely in what doesn't happen.

Katz and Walshak opposed the administrative directions taken by City Manager Carrie Parker, especially the October staff reorganization in which three department heads were laid off and another was forced into early retirement.

Many speculated that if both Katz and Walshak were elected, Parker would be looking for a new job.

"I think Carrie would have been out on her can and God help the city," Rosen said. "It would have put us back a hundred years."

"I think the question and the point is moot since both of us are not running," Katz said.